Balancing Act: DIY Balancing Facial Mask.

Oily T-Zone, dry cheeks, random breakouts, dry patches, uneven skin tone and texture..you name it and it is the season of unbalanced skin. As the season changes, lifestyles and stress levels change our skin gets out of sync. Here is a simple facial mask that is easy to make and has soothing rebalancing properties to get your skin cells synchronized and back to giving you a radiant, hydrated and even complexion.

Balancing Facial Mask.

1 small avocado, mashed (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 small cucumber, finely grated (about 1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, using a fork to blend. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Apply a thick layer of the mixture to clean, dry skin on your face and neck, avoiding the eye and lip areas. Keep fairly still for 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the mask to dry in place. Wipe skin clean with a damp cloth; splash with cool water, and pat dry.

Enjoy the balance!

Lala xoxo

Magic Wand: Maximize Your Mascara Wand.

Mascara wands...it can make your head spin in picking out which wand is right for you. There are thin, long wands..big, fat, monstrous wands..Spiky rubber wands..and not to mention now, wands in the shape of a tiny ball. Confused yet? Let me break it down for you in the top three wands to shop for by the look you are going for!

The Skinny.  If you are looking for longer lashes but don't want more thickness and volume, this is the brush for you. Thin and long mascara wands are designed to give you ultimate length. I love this style of wand for shorter lashes that are already a little thick naturally. This will enhance the natural thickness in your lashes and extend them out naturally.

The Multitasking Medium. If you are looking for length and thickness but not the clumping, this brush is for you! The perfect medium brushes are thick in nature but have thinner rubber bristles that separate the clumps while allowing you the flexibility of getting the product to the base of your lash. I love this style for lashes that have average length and thickness and want to enhance them and add drama.

The Big Bang. If you are looking for maximum volume and thickness, this is the brush for you. These thick brushes are designed to pick up mascara formulas that have larger molecules and polymers so you can get the most dramatic product evenly distributed on your lash. I love this for long, thin lashes. This really adds depth to and deep drama. I do not recommend this kind of brush or any volumizing formula for short lashes, for it can lead to clumping and making the lashes actually look shorter and stumpy. This formula and style is a must have for the longer, thinner lash.





Rock those magic wands ladies!

Lala xoxo

Bronze Beauty: How to Bronze.

Nothing puts an extra sass to your step like having bronzed, beautiful and glowing skin. Bronzer can completely contour and structure your facial features while giving your skin tone a healthy warmth that displays youth and health. Here is a simple application that can give you that bronze beautiful look with some do's and don'ts.



Application:

• If you have always wondered, "When do I put this on?"..Your bronzer goes after your complexion products (foundations and concealers) but before your blush.
• Choose a brush for application that matches what you want out of your bronzer. If you want your bronze to look more natural and deposit less pigment, choose a brush that is softer and fluffier. A large powder brush is perfect for you. If you want the bronzer to be more noticeable and deposit more color, choose a brush that is more compact and the brush hairs more concentrated.
• To begin your application, swirl your brush in your powdered bronzer and tap off the access. From now on, think of only circular motions. You will buff your bronzer on in the shape of a "3" along the side of your face. The middle of the "3' being your cheek, your temple being the top and your chin being the bottom.
• Begin buffing your bronzer in the middle of the apple of your cheek and continue sweeping the bronzer up towards your temple, back towards the apple of your cheek and back down towards your chin, sweeping the bronzer along your jawline.

This application technique will give you a beautiful, structured contour while also giving you the perfect warmth of color.

Do's:

• Do find a bronzer that matches your personality. From light to matte all the way to deep and sparkly.
• Do concentrate most of your pigment where you want to structure and slim your face most.
• Do feel free to place a little bronzer to contour the sides of your nose, making it look perkier and slim.

Don't:

• Don't place bronzer on the flat of your forehead or bridge of your nose. This causes a flat look to your face.
• Don't use light, highlighter style bronzers along your jawline, this makes it look broader.

Bronze away ladies!

Lala xoxo

Stay In Place: Tricks To Making Makeup Last All Day.

Today's Woman runs around. I hear it all day, every day no matter what lifestyle and what demographic..Women are managing to run around from the early morning through the late evening. As our days stretch out, we find our makeup does not follow us but rather ditches out on us halfway through our day.

Luckily there are tips, ingredients and steps to lock your makeup in place so you look just as fresh at the end of your day as you did at the beginning. Here are the basic steps to have a stay in place complexion.

1. Prime: If you have not tapped into this amazing product yet, I highly suggest you do for it makes all the difference. A primer serves two purposes. It is usually a silicone or dimethicone (by the way, do not even get me started on one of my must have, favorite smoothing ingredients 'dimethicone'..it is literally a miracle ingredient.) base that acts as a smoothing agent. This breathable smoothing agent lays on your skin so that your foundation and powders lay on the primer rather than getting stuck in those fickle lines, wrinkles and pores. So, it makes your skin look young and perfect! Primer also protects your makeup from the enzymes in your skin that are designed to breakdown dirt and debris. Your poor enzymes do not know the difference between a spec of dirt and the powder that you just spent your hard earned dollar on applying to your skin. This all helps create a perfect stage for longer wearing and even makeup!

You will place a pea size amount on your fingertips and massage the primer onto your skin.

2. Foundation: If you wear a liquid foundation, apply your foundation with a foundation brush. It makes a world of difference for the actual look of the application but more so, applies the product in a way where it has longevity.

3. Conceal: If you wear a concealer, apply your concealer after your foundation. I get asked which should go first as one of my most asked concealing questions. There is no wrong or right answer however if you are looking for the most coverage and the longest wear time, artists suggest placing your concealer on after your foundation. This gives the larger molecules in the concealer a chance to bind on top of the smaller molecules of the foundation, creating more coverage and longevity. I also suggest you use a brush for this application as well. It will ensure you have the most smooth look and natural look.

4. Set: For a long wearing complexion, powder is not an option but rather a must-have. A common mistake clients make when setting foundations with powders is buffing it on in hard or circular motions. This disrupts all of the hard work you just did in smoothing out the skin. The best technique is to pat the powder lightly on top of your makeup. Pat versus rub or buff.

I also must give a very large shout out for another product I can not live without as I am a girl on the go and need to lock my makeup down even further. Setting Spray. After my makeup is completely done..eyes, cheeks, lips...I use a Makeup Setting Spray and generously mist my face and allow a moment to dry. Makeup Setting Sprays are designed to seal and protect makeup for the rest of your day. You can also carry Setting Spray in travel size in your purse to touch up spritz while you are on the go. It feels amazing and makes you look fresh!

So run those errands, be that super woman and order your makeup to stick along with you for the ride!

Lala xoxo

Chocolips: Homemade Chocolate Lip Gloss.

Chocolate Lip Gloss

• 1.5 Tbsp. cocoa butter
• 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 Vitamin E capsule
• A few drops of Stevia for sweetness
• For some extra umph: a few drops of peppermint oil or vanilla extract (totally optional)

Melt the cocoa butter in a glass cup. Stir in the cocoa powder until it’s well blended. Add the Vitamin E capsule and Stevia and give it a final stir before pouring your homemade lip gloss into a new or used lip gloss pot. Allow it to chill in the fridge for a couple hours and enjoy!

Lala xoxo

Illuminate.

A simple step in any beauty routine that goes without getting much attention is a highlighter. Something as simple as a quick application can take you from drab to fab, looking young and vibrant. Highlighters can be a cream if you have a normal to dry skin tone or a powder if you are normal to oily. Both look gorgeous so long as the texture of the highlighter that you have chosen match your skin type.

How to highlight in a pinch!

1. Apply your blush as usual. For a soft look, apply your blush on the apple of your cheek and then sweep it up and back like a Nike Swoosh. For a chiseled look, apply just below the cheekbone and back.

2. Take your highlighter and apply it to to top of the apple of your cheek and blend up along your cheekbone and around the side of your eye.

Once you see what a huge difference that can make in your look, you can then look back to earlier posts on more advanced highlighting and how to maximize your glow.

Shine on ladies!

Lala xoxo

 

 

 

 

Eye Have It Under Control: DIY Eye Treatments.

The eyes...it is the most looked at part of your features and yet can make you or break you. It is the first place that we show stress, fatigue or aging. So take a moment, lock yourself away from the world and pamper your peepers with an eye treatment.   

Cucumbers and Tea.  You will prep the night before. First steep chamomile tea for a half an hour in a cup. Allow the tea to then move to room temperature while sitting. Then, slice cucumbers and set them in the cup to marinate. Place the cup in the fridge overnight.

The next day or evening, pick the saturated cucumbers out of the tea and place them on a clean eye for 15 minutes.

After the 15 minutes, remove the cucumber and blot dry lightly. Apply olive oil on top to seal in the tea and also to replenish your moisture in a lightweight and rebuilding way.

Enjoy!

Lala xoxo